In Dreams: An AliceHatter Fanfic
by fairfarren
Summary: A simple Alice/Hatter oneshot. The night before the Frabjous Day, Alice is haunted by the task she is charged with, yet she finds her inspiration in a very unlikely place...


_Hello, all._

_This is my very first fanfic on this site, but I absolutely adore Alice In Wonderland_

_And absolutely love the relationship between Alice and the Hatter, so I just HAD to make this sweet little oneshot for you._

_I really do hope you like it...Tell me what you think!_

**In Dreams: An Alice/Hatter Fanfic**

It was the eve of what could possibly be the most important day in the history of Underland.  
An air of expectation and promise hung thick in the air, adding to the heavy, warm Summer night air, casting its spell over all. In all corners the White Queen's castle at Marmoreal, creatures who had been previously enslaved and tortured at the hands of the treaturous Red Queen slept more peacefully than they ever had, dreaming of the moment where they would finally be free, once and for all. While everyone else slumbered, though, one lone occupant remained completely awake.

In a tucked-away chamber of the White Queen's castle, Alice Kingsley tried to fall asleep, but to no avail. She drifted slowly in and out of concious, her mind filled with the weight of the impossible task she had been charged with. She had arrived here in Underland only a few days before, but it already seemed like she had endured a lifetime. Tomorrow, on the much awaited Frabjous Day, she was expected to slay the Jabberwocky, one of the most horrific beasts she had ever heard of,and wherever she went, animals and humans alike looked on with hope and awe at their chosen champion. So many people believed in her so deeply, but she had no idea if she could ever have what it takes to be what everyone had expected her to be. Visions of the hideous Jabberwocky kept playing over and over in her mind, making her afraid to fall asleep. Giving up, she opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, clutching her knees in her hands. She looked around in the darkness for a while, trying to think of something...ANYTHING...that could put her back at ease, but she knew that this, too, was impossible. In the stillness of her thoughts, however, she snapped back to reality, to hear soft breathing just outside her chamber.

Curiously, she lifted her head up and faced the noise. She considered who it might be for a moment, until finally, her natural curiousity got the best of her. She slowly turned back her covers, and tiptoed cautiously across the floor to the moonlit doorway. She peeked her out, not knowing what to expect, but a small smile creeped across her face as she quickly saw just who the noise was coming from. Right outside her chamber door, slept one of the very few friends she had in this crazy world she had fallen into: the man known simply as the Hatter. He lay slumped against the stone wall, the moonlight from the window falling gently on his procelain features. A gleaming sword lay by his side, and Alice's heart glowed as she realised that he must have been keeping guard over her in the night..."Just how have I deserved this?", she thought to herself. He had barely known her, and yet he was willing to risk it all for her. Did he really believe in her so deeply?

She paused for a moment, basking in this idea as she gazed on him, but these thoughts quickly faded away as she noticed something else about the Hatter that troubled her. Instead of the peaceful repose that sleep usually brought, the Hatter's features were troubled and pained, as if in the grip of a terrible nightmare. His eyes were screwed tight, and he occasionally thrashed his head from side to side, as if turning away from some terrible vision. Alice watched himm briefly, feeling utterly helpless. From the tragic stories the Hatter had told her, of the day he had lost his family to the Jabberwocky, and she knew that his dreams must be plagued by much the same thing that had kept her awake. Her heart broke for him, and she only wished she could ease his mind...then, as if out of nowhere, an idea occurred to her, as she remembered how her Father had helped to ease her own nightmares. She knew that she had to try.

Bending down slowly to the sleeping man, she gently brushed a few locks of wild red hair away from his face, and very carefully touched her lips to his warm forehead. "Sleep now. Nothing will hurt you", she whispered to him, and as she said the words, she could slowly see a change in him. His clothes, which had been fearful black before, now calmed down to blue, and his face finally started to relax little by again, Alice gave him a small smile as he slept on, and she turned back towards her bed, her heart and hope full at the sight of her loyal, dear friend. She didn't think she would ever feel like she was rhe Alice that everyone had put their hopes in...and yet, she owed so much, to the people who had gone to so much length to protect her. She couldn't let them down

Win or lose, she was finally ready....


End file.
